Sometimes a mother might have to gently nudge her child next to her in the pew and point to the spot on the page of the hymnal. El-Kiddo gets the unspoken message that she's supposed to leave LaLa-Land, tune back in, and join in the hymn-singing.
Oh, higher than the cherubim,
more glorious than the seraphim,
lead their praises. Alleluia!
Thou bearer of the eternal Word,
most gracious, magnify the Lord.
Respond, ye souls in endless rest,
ye patriarchs and prophets blessed,
ye holy Twelve,
ye martyrs strong,
all saints triumphant raise the song:
Alleluia! (TLH 475)
Certainly the blessed Virgin Mary does not need to be asked to tune in to what's happening in church. Certainly Abraham and David and Peter and Paul and Ignatius and Constantine do not need to be told to sing with us. But there's just something that thrills the heart and sends shivers down your spine to realize so vividly that we're talking to our brothers and sisters in this song -- that Mary Magdalene and my grandfather and Isaiah and Katie Luther and Robert Preus and my goddaughter Bethany and Ambrose and Eve and Jeremiah and Barnabas are all there with us, gathered around the altar with us, singing with us -- and that we are inviting them to join us. :-) Like they need to be invited? We need the prodding to sing and praise more than they, that's for sure. But still, this hymn ... what a glorious reminder that we are all one body!
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